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Register a new userGround-based Gamma-Ray Astronomy: an Introduction
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Added by
Giuseppe Di Sciascio
Publication date
2019
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Authors
Giuseppe Di Sciascio
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During the last two decades Gamma-Ray Astronomy has emerged as a powerful tool to study cosmic ray physics. In fact, photons are not deviated by galactic or extragalactic magnetic fields so their directions bring the information of the production sites and are easier to detect than neutrinos. Thus the search for $gamma$ primarily address in the framework of the search of cosmic ray sources and to the investigation of the phenomena in the acceleration sites. This note is not a place for a review of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. We will introduce the experimental techniques used to detect photons from ground in the overwhelming background of CRs and briefly describe the experiments currently in data taking or under installation.
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Following the discovery of the cosmic rays by Victor Hess in 1912, more than 70 years and numerous technological developments were needed before an unambiguous detection of the first very-high-energy gamma-ray source in 1989 was made. Since this discovery the field on very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy experienced a true revolution: A second, then a third generation of instruments were built, observing the atmospheric cascades from the ground, either through the atmospheric Cherenkov light they comprise, or via the direct detection of the charged particles they carry. Present arrays, 100 times more sensitive than the pioneering experiments, have detected a large number of astrophysical sources of various types, thus opening a new window on the non-thermal Universe. New, even more sensitive instruments are currently being built; these will allow us to explore further this fascinating domain. In this article we describe the detection techniques, the history of the field and the prospects for the future of ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy.
We describe plans for the development of the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), a next-generation instrument with sensitivity to the very-high-energy (VHE) band to be constructed in the Southern Hemisphere. SWGO will provide wide-field coverage of a large portion of the southern sky, effectively complementing current and future instruments in the global multi-messenger effort to understand extreme astrophysical phenomena throughout the universe. A detailed description of science topics addressed by SWGO is available in the science case white paper [1]. The development of SWGO will draw on extensive experience within the community in designing, constructing, and successfully operating wide-field instruments using observations of extensive air showers. The detector will consist of a compact inner array of particle detection units surrounded by a sparser outer array. A key advantage of the design of SWGO is that it can be constructed using current, already proven technology. We estimate a construction cost of 54M USD and a cost of 7.5M USD for 5 years of operation, with an anticipated US contribution of 20M USD ensuring that the US will be a driving force for the SWGO effort. The recently formed SWGO collaboration will conduct site selection and detector optimization studies prior to construction, with full operations foreseen to begin in 2026. Throughout this document, references to science white papers submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey with particular relevance to the key science goals of SWGO, which include unveiling Galactic particle accelerators [2-10], exploring the dynamic universe [11-21], and probing physics beyond the Standard Model [22-25], are highlighted in red boldface.
Composite mirrors for gamma-ray astronomy have been developed to fulfill the specifications required for the next generation of Cherenkov telescopes represented by CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array). In addition to the basic requirements on focus and reflection efficiency, the mirrors have to be stiff, lightweight, durable and cost efficient. In this paper, the technology developed to produce such mirrors is described, as well as some tests that have been performed to validate them. It is shown that these mirrors comply with the needs of CTA, making them good candidates for use on a significant part of the array.
Transient and variable phenomena in astrophysical sources are of particular importance to understand the underlying gamma-ray emission processes. In the very-high energy gamma-ray domain, transient and variable sources are related to charged particle acceleration processes that could for instance help understanding the origin of cosmic-rays. The imaging atmospheric Cherenkov technique used for gamma-ray astronomy above $sim 100$ GeV is well suited for detecting such events. However, the standard analysis methods are not optimal for such a goal and more sensitive methods are specifically developed in this publication. The sensitivity improvement could therefore be helpful to detect brief and faint transient sources such as Gamma-Ray Bursts.
This article is the write-up of a rapporteur talk given at the 34th ICRC in The Hague, Netherlands. It attempts to review the results and developments presented at the conference and associated to the vibrant field of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. In total, it aims to give an overview of the 19 gamma-ray sessions, 84 talks and 176 posters presented at the 34th ICRC on this topic. New technical advances and projects will be described with an emphasis given on the cosmic-ray related studies of the Universe.
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